1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a D-type connector unplugging tool. More particularly, the present invention relates to a D-type connector unplugging tool which is useful for unplugging male/female connectors of various D-type connector sizes without causing any damage to the D-type connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
D-type connector is a widely used electrical component for connecting electronic equipment, such as in weaponry system, testing equipment, and office machines. For example, the D-type connector has been used to connect the serial I/O port (RS-232) of a main computer terminal to a computer peripheral device (a printer), and in the military industry, the connector serves to connect and transmit vital electronic information between electrical circuits in a piloting device. D-type connectors can be divided according to its pincount into 9-pin, 15-pin, 25-pin, 37-pin and 50-pin connector, respectively. The biggest D-type connector is the 50-pin one having an overall length of about 6.5 cm, while the smallest 9-pin has an overall length of just 3 cm.
FIG. 1 is a sketch of a conventional D-type connector. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional D-type connector comprises of a male plug 10 and a female socket 12. The male plug 10 and the female socket 12 each has a metal housing 14 and 16, respectively. Because the connective parts 18 and 20 of the respective metal housing 14 and 16 has a D-shaped external appearance, therefore the connector is dubbed a D-type connector. For the male plug 10, there are a plurality of pins 22 inside the connective part 18 of the metal housing 14, and those pins are fixed in position by a surrounding plastic piece (not shown in the Figure). For the corresponding female socket 12, there are the same number of pin holes 24 inside the connective part 20 of the metal housing 16, and the pin holes 24 are also fixed in position by another surrounding plastic piece 26. In addition, both the pins 22 of the male plug 10 and the pin holes 24 of the female socket 12 are arranged systematically in alternating rows that corresponds in position with each other. The connective part 18 of the male plug 10 is made slightly larger than the connective part 20 of the female socket 12 so that they form a tight fit. At the backside of the connective parts 18 and 20 of the male/female connecting heads 10 and 12, there are wiring outlets where each pin or pin hole can be connected to a wire or directly soldered onto a circuit board (not shown in the Figure). Corresponding to the metal housings 14 and 16 of the male plug 10 and female socket 12, there are plate extensions 30 and 32, respectively. The plate extension 32 has a pair of screws 34 one on each side, and the plate extension 30 has a pair of internally threaded holes 36 matching in position with a pair of screws 34. The screws 34 and holes 36 serve to fasten the male plug 10 and female socket 12 in position when they are plugged together. Additionally, there are a pair of padding plates 38 one on each side attached to the plate extension 32 and positioned by the screws 34.
For D-type connector used in computers, the part between the connector head and the wire connecting section is normally enclosed in a plastic housing to protect the pins and wires against any accidental wire breakages or pin pull-outs in the process of unplugging the connector. However, for special purpose D-type connectors, for example, used by the military and avionic equipment in particular, in which flexibility in manufacturing, light-weightedness, and ease of maintenance must be considered, there will be no plastic housing. Conventionally, there is no specific tools or methods to help separate the male plug from the female socket. When the number of pins in the connector is large, a greater amount of force is needed to pull the connector apart. One method is to use a pry to force open the metal housings a little and then rocking alternately to loosen the connector. Sometimes, this method is unusable simply because there is too little space to maneuver. This is especially serious for connectors installed in a densely packed and tightly spaced environment such as inside the narrow airplane compartments. Therefore, unconventional method such as holding the connecting wires to pull out the connecting heads is sometimes used. However, such unconventional method may cause the breaking of wires, the out-pulling of pins or some damage to the connector.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need in the art in providing a tool for unplugging the D-type connector.